Gingerbread Brownies

12/19 update: Three people have now said that these brownies came out bitter for them. A few have said that they were great and that they loved them. I’ve made these over a dozen times and they’re quite sweet and not at all bitter for me. The person who made the recipe video said, “No, they were definitely not bitter, they were quite sweet actually! We made the recipe twice and both times the brownies tasted amazing. Everyone who tried them liked them very much. And that is confirmed by a lot of people because we gave them away before we left for the trip. I don’t understand how could they be bitter? This is just weird!”

I have no idea how to explain this if people are following the recipe 100%. I suppose to be on the safe side, you should use regular molasses and not blackstrap (which I used every time during testing – and I tried 3 different brands). Please also weigh the ingredients, especially the coconut sugar!

These gingerbread brownies are gooey, moist and loaded with molasses and warm spices. They’re also paleo, gluten-free and can be made vegan.

If you look at other gingerbread brownie recipes, you’ll find a lot of recipes that are regular brownie recipes with gingerbread spices and maybe a bit of added molasses. Not these!

There’s no chocolate in these, unless you want to add chocolate chips on top, like I did. They’re also delicious with about a cup of chocolate chips added to the batter. If you can have white chocolate, that’s also super yummy in these!

These brownies are all gingerbread but in gooey form. I think it’s an improvement over the cake version!

Someone on my coconut flour cookies post left a comment saying how glad they were that I had come up with an all coconut flour version of my paleo chocolate chip cookies. It made me so happy that I decided to make another coconut flour only recipe.

These gingerbread brownies really have an amazing texture. There’s no funky coconut flour weirdness to them at all! (nor, by the way, is there in those coconut flour cookies linked to above :)) Same goes for my coconut flour brownies.

I made these brownies 9 times over 2 days and each time they came out differently. I went by weight, used the same oven and pan so the only variables were the ingredients.

And still, every batch came out slightly to widely different. I like precision so this freaks me out.

After I made the first batch, I was so ridiculously excited that I went straight to my computer and started writing the post. When I took out the second batch (which I made to confirm that I hadn’t made a mistake with the first), the result just confused me.

When I was mixing that batch together, the oil didn’t incorporate with the other wet ingredients. I thought once I added the dry mix to the wet, that the oil would somehow incorporate. It didn’t.

I wasn’t going to waste all those ingredients so I baked them anyway and some of the oil floated to the top. It was like they were fried.

Fried gingerbread brownies! Perhaps a first in the world.

So I made them again and again and again. I’d run out of coconut sugar, coconut oil or molasses and open a new bag or jar. They were often different brands. Then I’d get different results.

So I’m going to be really honest and say I have no idea if your results will 100% look like mine. But they will be delicious!

They’ve been made by two other people so far and the results have been like what I describe. And the pictures don’t show how gooey they really are!

If you need these to be paleo, make sure to use paleo baking powder. The store-bought stuff has cornstarch in it.

Substitution questions for these gingerbread brownies:

Can I use another type of flour?

There’s no sub for coconut flour as it absorbs so much more liquid than any other flour so – nope. You have to use coconut flour.

What can I use instead of molasses?

These gingerbread brownies get their gingerbready flavor from the molasses. So unfortunately you have to use it.

It also has a different consistency than other liquid sweeteners like maple syrup and honey so I’m not so sure how those would work out. I’m thinking definitely no to maple syrup and maybe to honey. But then you’d have honey-flavored brownies with some gingerbread spices.

Can I omit the egg / use a different egg replacement?

Definitely don’t just omit the egg. A chia egg worked great and I bet a flax egg would, too.

Can you taste the coconut oil?

You could taste it in the batter but once baked, all I tasted were the spices! So feel free to use refined or unrefined.

Can you use something other than coconut oil?

Butter would work for a dairy-containing version!

Can I use something else in place of the coconut sugar?

You can use granulated sugar (which means they’re no longer paleo). Liquid sweetener won’t work. I haven’t tried it but perhaps Lakanto Monkfruit sweetener would work for a lower-carb version?

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, beat the coconut oil, sugar, molasses and vanilla until well combined. There shouldn't be any bits of coconut oil at all. It should totally combined with the other ingredients. Beat in the egg just until well combined. Fold in the flour just until very few streaks of flour remain. Pour into the prepared pan, sprinkle with chocolate chips, and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the edges of the brownies comes out clean.

Let cool completely. The brownies may puff up in the oven but will fall back down while cooling. Using the parchment paper overhang, lift the brownies out of the pan and cut into squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Notes

It should be like softened butter - not rock hard straight from the fridge and not at all melty - you should be able to mix it with a hand mixer.

hi as i read comments i made these brownies mine were delish, also DONT USE BLACKSTRAP Molasses it gives a bitter taste. I used Brer Rabbit Full Flavor Molasses, my brother is a Chef and said blackstrap molasses will give bitter taste. Blackstrap molasses is produced after the third boiling of molasses and gives food a bitter taste.

I’m thrilled that you enjoyed them! Thanks for your feedback. :) I made these with blackstrap every time (different brands, too!) so I just can’t understand why some people find them bitter. So strange. Thanks again for your comment!

These are excellent! As is every recipe make off this site! I am thrilled that they are made with coconut flour! They turned out delicious…I used blackstrap molasses.
My guess when people say bitter… The ginger may be too strong for them. Cutting the ginger in half may help… But we love strong ginger here! (:
Thank you for this delicious recipe!

I’m so sorry for just now seeing your comment! I didn’t realize I wouldn’t have internet at my in-laws over the holidays. :/ I’m super happy to get another comment saying that these are delicious, even with using blackstrap molasses! I don’t feel like there’s a ton of ginger in these but maybe the problem could be that my ginger is just old and other people have fresher stuff? Thanks for the suggestion! It’s just so confusing for me. And I’m also happy that you like my other recipes. :) Thanks again for your comment!

Here is another comment on how bitter one batch was. The first batch I made, I used Truvia blend brown sugar sweetener and a fancy molasses and they were delicious. I made a second batch using an organic molasses, more like blackstrap and coconut sugar. My coconut sugar did not pack, so I’m thinking it was not as sweet as yours. I have since found out that blackstrap molasses is the bitterest. I am going to try them again using a fancy molasses. Also, different brands probably taste different.

Yes, the problem all seems to be the molasses. :/ I live in Germany so have access to different brands here. But they were labeled blackstrap so I’m hoping that they are indeed blackstrap! It’s great to know that Truvia works well in these. Thanks for your tip and feedback!

I just made these. Super easy! Very basic ingredients. I was surprised it didn’t call for cocoa powder. They are a tad crumbly but super tastey and moist. Will 100% make again. May try to use a very ripe banana so i can 1/2 the sugar to make a tad healthier??

Well, crumbly is new. :D This recipe is just a mystery. I’ve never really used banana as a sugar (or fat) replacement but if that’s something you’ve done before, I’d hope it’d work here, too. :) I’d love to hear how it comes out! Thanks a bunch for your comment. I was super happy to read that they came out well!

The first batch I made, the clove was too strong. The next batch, I just omitted the cloves. We love them! Mine seem to come out looking darker than yours, but maybe that is lighting. Another great recipe!! Thanks!!

I’m so happy you enjoyed them! What brand of molasses did you use? I ask since the previous reviewers said they were bitter and mine (with my 3 different brands of molasses I used during testing) were far from bitter. Thanks a bunch for your comment! I was very happy to get it. :)

I followed this recipe to the letter and I have to agree with another reader/person that commented – they came out bitter. I gave them to my man to taste test today and he concurred. I think it has to do with the amount of blackstrap molasses in the recipe maybe?

Hmm. I checked my jars of molasses again (because I tested them with 3 different kinds) and they’re definitely blackstrap. I’ve now made these about 12-15 times and had two other people test them before posting so I’m not sure what the issue could be. I’m sorry you found them bitter! I wish I knew what the issue was. Is it your first time using blackstrap molasses? Some say it’s an acquired taste. Maybe that’s it? My husbands absolutely hates anything (including recipes that other people love, so it’s not just me!) with it. Did you very tightly pack the coconut sugar? I definitely recommend going by weight!

No, I bake all the time and have used blackstrap molasses in other recipes over a long period of years; I’m thinking it’s the amount required maybe mixing with the coconut flour? I LOVE your ginger cookies (also calls for molasses, which I use blackstrap in) but no bitterness there. My co-workers who do not eat Paleo or very healthy at all for that matter love them too, but I don’t bring in a lot of them, too expensive to be sharing with them very often!Keep up the good work, so far this is the only recipe that I was a little disappointed in, the remainder have all been perfect! Happy Holidays, Erin!

Well darn. I was hoping that might explain it! I’ve tested this recipe so many times and shared them with a few different people (who all claimed to love them!) at this point so I’m not sure what it could be. Perhaps my molasses isn’t as bitter as yours? What brand did you use? I used Meridian Organic Blackstrap Molasses. I’m happy you like the other recipes and thanks for coming back to answer! Happy holidays to you, too. :)

If you used 3/4 cup of coconut sugar in these, as the recipe calls for, and didn’t make any subs or other changes to the recipe, these are so far from bitter. They’re quite sweet (as brownies usually are).

Erin, does your coconut sugar pack? I pictured it as being moist like regular brown sugar, which packs. The coconut sugar I bought did not pack. It poured like granulated sugar. Might it not be as sweet? Also, I was told that coconut sugar is still sugar, so if you are trying to avoid sugar, you should avoid coconut sugar as well as cane sugar.

Mine pours too but you can still really pack it down. And coconut sugar is definitely still sugar but I prefer it over granulated sugar. :) I replied to your other comment, too (just saying since you didn’t have comment notification on for that one!).

Hello! Sorry for just now seeing your question. I’ve never used that sub. It might make them a little cakey but other than that I really don’t know. Sorry about that! There’s a chia egg version listed if that works for you. :)

I was contemplating making these this weekend and once I got on to get the recipe and saw your update about people having bitter results, I decided I definitely had to try them. So all I can say is WOW!…so spicy. I love to try batter and they were overpowering raw. Then I tried them warm…still too spicy but nice and chewy, gooey for brownies. Now that they are cool…just really spicy. Which is so weird because I love ginger and cloves and cinnamon and nutmeg. But I think when I make these again, I will reduce the cloves and ginger (hardly believe I am saying that.) I did add white chocolate chips which made them better. These would be really good with some kind of frosting to cut through the spiciness of the brownies. Thanks for such a great recipe!

I’m so happy that you liked them! Thanks for letting me know. :) So for you, they weren’t bitter, just really spicy? That’s so strange! One other person said that they were also very spicy. For me, they weren’t. Just normal gingerbready! I just don’t understand what the deal is. It’s so bizarre. I’ve never had something like this happen with one of my recipes. Thank you again for leaving feedback! It’s especially nice to get some positive comments on this crazy recipe. :)